BluePearl Pet Hospital
Sandy Springs, GA

It’s a good day for Dr. Tuncay when he can treat a more complicated case or a case with a poorer prognosis. He is especially interested in treatments at the clinical trial stage and loves being on the cutting edge of technology and medicine.

Dr. Tuncay has a wife and two pets – a 15-year-old chihuahua and a 9-year-old Persian cat. In his free time, he enjoys reading, playing video games, hiking, going to movies, cooking and eating out.

Dr. Stacy Andrew's special interests include corneal diseases, ocular manifestations of systemic disease and eyelid surgery. Prior to BluePearl, Dr. Andrew served as a faculty member at the University of Florida.

Dr. Andrew enjoys traveling, reading and horse-related activities. She and husband, Dr. Alan Cross, have three French bulldogs.

Dr. Nicolas Berryessa is particularly interested in infectious diseases and immune-mediated disorders.

Dr. Nicole Block is a resident in our neurology service. Her particular clinical interests include medical and surgical management of intervertebral disc disease, vestibular disease, and seizure management.

Dr. Block loves exploring new places, attending live music shows and being outside. She brings her dog Coco everywhere with her.

As an emergency clinician, Dr. AnnMarie Bloomer likes stabilizing trauma patients, managing different types of shock and facilitating advanced care with our specialty clinicians.

Dr. Bloomer’s favorite pastimes include CrossFit, drinking coffee, traveling, and hanging out with her family, friends and dogs BB and Pippin.

Dr. Ryan Bray's clinical interests include acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease, minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, immune-mediated blood disorders, and nutritional management of the critically ill patient.

Dr. Bray enjoys sports, traveling and a number of outdoor activities. He and his wife, also a BluePearl clinician have a daughter and a number of pets: dog Rivers, cat Wilson, two leopard geckos, two corn snakes and a Betta fish.

Dr. Sequoia Bruinton enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.

Dr. Bruinton enjoys running, reading, horseback riding and spending time with her family.

Dr. Sarah Camp particularly enjoys stabilizing and caring for patients in critical condition.

Dr. Camp grew up in Atlanta and loves spending time in the city with her husband and dog. She also likes traveling to new places.

Dr. DaShaunté Coleman's clinical interests include traumatic wound repair and treating urethral obstructions

Dr. Coleman likes cooking for and traveling with her husband and son. They have one dog, a lab mix named Ace.

Dr. Alan Cross focuses on orthopedic surgery and frequently publishes and lectures on various procedures and topics within the specialty.

Dr. Cross is passionate about motorsports. He can often be found in his garage under an automotive restoration project or racing his Spec Miata race car on various tracks in the Southeast.

Dr. Michael Di Cicco's professional interests include upper and lower urinary tract diseases, cystoscopy, abdominal ultrasonography, nutrition, and infectious diseases.

Dr. Di Cicco enjoys riding his road or mountain bike, watching Chicago sports teams, and spending time with his friends and three dogs, Marlowe, Linus and Max.

Dr. Erika Edmund is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. Interested in all facets of emergency medicine, Dr. Edmund finds treating trauma cases especially gratifying.

When not at the hospital, Dr. Edmund enjoys traveling, trying new food, playing video games and hiking with her dog, a one-eyed Chihuahua-terrier mix.

Dr. Brolin Evans finds lymphoid malignancies gratifying to treat because of the success of current available treatments. He’s excited about the field of comparative oncology and its benefits to both veterinary and human cancer patients. The osteosarcoma vaccine is one such treatment being studied in both human and veterinary medicine that’s he hopeful to use in the near future.

Dr. Evans loves playing the piano and singing at church, as well as cooking and keeping reef aquariums. He and his wife have three geriatric dogs, cocker spaniel Sully, Brussels griffon Munchkin, and English bulldog Rex.

As a veterinary internist, Dr. Heidi Fink’s special interests include feline medicine, gastroenterology/hepatology and endocrinology. She has given lectures on a variety of internal medicine topics, including feline retroviruses and canine/feline diabetes mellitus. She received the ACVIM resident research award for her master’s thesis project evaluating pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

In her free time, Dr. Fink enjoys outdoor activities including gardening, running, swimming, backpacking and skiing. She has three cats named Roxie, Samantha and Stuart.

Dr. Gelé is always ready to tackle challenging cases like immune mediated diseases, diabetic ketoacidosis and Addisonian crisis. She doesn’t shy away from puzzling or complex illnesses.

Dr. Gelé likes to travel and attend sporting events. An outdoor lover, she enjoys kayaking and hiking with her husband and two dogs. Emmy is an energetic, mid-size brindle herding mix who likes to run and play. Reese is a wire-haired Jack Russell mix who likes chasing squirrels, sunbathing and snuggling.

Prior to coming to Georgia, Dr. Hamilton was the medical director and oncologist at a busy referral hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr. Hamilton’s favorite sport is baseball – he’s a Cleveland Indians fan. He and his wife enjoy every chance they get to spend time with their son and daughter.

Dr. Stanley Hunter enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.

Dr. Hunter likes watching sports to include football, basketball, tennis, golf and cheering on the Yankees.

The diagnosis and treatment of head trauma and neuromuscular disease drew Dr. Johnson to the specialty of veterinary neurology and neurosurgery.

An active sportsman, Dr. Johnson enjoys golf, tennis, and competing in triathlons. But even more so, he enjoys the company of his wife and their three children.

Dr. Ted Johnson enjoys educating clients about their pets’ conditions and training new clinicians on the BluePearl team.

Dr. Johnson’s hobbies include biking and playing board games. He has a border collie mix named Remy.

When a pet comes in and needs immediate surgical care, Dr. Lacayo is ready to help. Her focus is on critical care – when a patient’s every second counts.

When she isn’t in the surgery suite saving lives, Dr. Lacayo enjoys hiking, traveling and spending time with her three dogs and cat.

Dr. Nathan Lee is one of fewer than 100 board-certified veterinary radiation oncology specialists in the world. He came to BluePearl from the University of Tennessee where he was an assistant professor. He enjoys telling clients that compared to human medicine, animals tolerate veterinary radiation therapy much better and with fewer skin-related side effects than people. Dr. Lee is especially interested in intensity modulated radiation IMRT and stereotactic radiotherapy SRT. Both of these treatment options focus more precisely on tumor tissue, sparing much more of the normal tissue around tumors, which decreases the chance of side effects following therapy.

Dr. Lee and his wife, a veterinary pathologist, have one daughter. The family pets run the gamut: Camie, a chocolate lab; Willie, a black wire-haired dachshund; Ellie, a tri-colored, long-haired cat; and Maya, a green parrot. Golf, cooking, rock climbing and yoga are favorite pastimes.

Dr. Olivia Lex is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She enjoys the variety of cases in emergency medicine and has a particular interest in wound repair and treating toxicities.

Dr. Lex favors outdoor activities, such as hiking, and is a huge football fan — especially the LSU Tigers. She has a little terrier mix name Dahlia, who is nine pounds of sass.

Dr. Lori MacDougall's special clinical interests include pain management, oncology and reconstructive surgery, although she also enjoys performing both orthopedic and soft tissue surgeries.

Dr. MacDougall and her husband enjoy spending time with their growing son Nathan, and their cat and dog. Whenever possible, you can find her outside swimming, walking or playing tennis.

Dr. Matos is interested in treating pets who need dermatology services, whether they have allergies, ear infections or underlying endocrine diseases. She is also keen on working in emergency situations and has been trained in Fear Free Certification which focuses on stress alleviation for pets.

When she’s not at the hospital caring for pets, Dr. Matos spends her free time enjoying nature with her dog. She also practices yoga.

Dr. Tiffany McAllister enjoys the variety that emergency cases bring. She finds it very rewarding to have the opportunity to help clients in their time of need work through a stressful situation with their pets.

Dr. McAllister has been a member of the Air National Guard since shortly before the 9/11 attacks. She stays active with CrossFit training and enjoys traveling to new places. Her personal goal is to hike to Mount Everest base camp. Rock and Sherman are her two rescue dogs.

Dr. Caroline Monk is particularly interested in treating corneal disease and says nothing beats the satisfaction of a discharge after cataract surgery. She also enjoys re-checks or getting updates from owners

Dr. Monk enjoys running, hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing and spending time with her dog, Murphy and three cats, Zoey, Myrtle and Austin.

Within the internal medicine specialty, Dr. Olga Norris’ clinical interests include endocrine and gastrointestinal diseases. She especially enjoys feline medicine.

Dr. Norris and her husband enjoy traveling, cooking and hiking. They have two poodles and a cat.

Dr. Olivencia-Morell is drawn to the science of orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. If your dog needs a TPLO surgery or a total hip replacement, Dr. Olivencia-Morell would be on the surgical team.

Dr. Olivencia-Morell enjoys outdoor hobbies, particularly skydiving. When he’s not jumping out of planes, you can find him spending time with his French Bulldog named Kai Malú.

Originally from Nova Scotia, Dr. Jennifer Parkes' clinical interests include seizure management, inflammatory brain disease and intervertebral disc disease.

Dr. Parkes and her husband, Dr. Nick Berryessa, met while completing their internships at Georgia Veterinary Specialists. Along with spending time with her husband and daughter, she also enjoys cooking, travel and hiking.

Dr. Jennifer Pittman is particularly interested in the treatment of snake bites, sepsis and coagulation disorders.

Dr. Pittman is an accomplished violinist. She’s played since elementary school and has been a member of the Athens Symphony Orchestra since 1999. She enjoys traveling, scuba diving and the company of her three cats.

Dr. Sayra Reyes is particularly interested in gastrointestinal disease and toxicities.

Dr. Reyes relaxes with a book or snuggles with her corgi-mix pooch named Kyler. She can also be found dancing with her husband.

Dr. Routh is particularly interested in ophthalmology. She is drawn to the intricacies of the eye and prefers to help treat pets with retinal disorders and intraocular procedures.

Dr. Routh has an adopted Foxhound/Coonhound dog named Tallahassee. In her free time, she likes to take Tallahassee hiking, camping, and kayaking.

Dr. Cassandra Ruthrauff enjoys all aspects of small animal surgery.

Dr. Ruthrauff enjoys watching professional sports, particularly New England teams, as well as playing soccer, wakeboarding and snowboarding. Her two dogs and two cats also keep her busy.

Dr. Schick has practiced veterinary dermatology in the Atlanta area since 1988. He was the first board-certified veterinary dermatologist in Atlanta and the first to utilize the CO2 laser.

An avid Florida Gator fan, Dr. Schick often flies his own plane watch the team play. He also volunteers his time with the Veteran’s Airlift Command and Angel Flight organizations to help transport military personnel in times of special need.

Before joining BluePearl in Georgia, Dr. Sepulveda was assistant professor of veterinary radiology at the Michigan State University.

Dr. Sepulveda and his wife have three children that keep them busy. To relax, he enjoys watching boxing.

Dr. Leslie Shelnutt enjoys all aspects of internal medicine. Her particular interests include immune-mediated, infectious and gastrointestinal diseases.

Some of Dr. Shelnutt’s favorite pastimes include traveling, painting, hiking and yoga. She has a Labrador named Wiggles.

Dr. Smith is interested in exotic pets, but he’s also drawn to the science of surgery.

Dr. Smith has one cat and one dog. He enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and rock climbing.

Dr. Danielle Laughlin is particularly interested in cardiac imaging using advanced echocardiography techniques and novel treatments for heart disease including new drugs and supplements to support patients with chronic heart disease.

In her free time, Dr. Laughlin likes to travel, cook, and spend time with her family. She and her husband have a son, a daughter, two terriers, and one handsome cat.

Dr. Sonnenfield has a wide range of clinical interests – especially shock and toxicity. In addition to her responsibilities as an emergency clinician, Dr. Sonnenfield serves on the intern committee, helping to coordinate the program at BluePearl.

Dr. Sonnenfield lives with her husband, two children, dog and cat. You’ll often find her on the soccer field, either playing on a women’s team or coaching her son’s team.

Dr. Rachel Tulipan has a particular interest in portosystemic shunts, patent ductus arteriosus and wounds.

Dr. Tulipan enjoys playing tennis and volleyball, hiking, running, riding her two horses and spending time with her pets: Mickey, a mixed breed dog and cat Huey.

Dr. Walker’s special interests are in toxicology and trauma. Prior to joining BluePearl, Dr. Walker taught courses at Ross University in pharmacology, toxicology, internal medicine, emergency medicine and critical care medicine.

Dr. Walker enjoys anything involving the water including kiteboarding, boating and fishing.

Dr. Jim Whitehead has special interests in immune-mediated diseases, endocrine diseases and gastrointestinal diseases.

Dr. Whitehead stays busy and active with his family, including two sons. He is an enthusiastic college football fan and occasionally plays bad golf. His rescued pets include Echo, a black lab mix, and Loki, a border collie mix.

Dr. Christina Whitley is a resident in our critical care service. Her particular clinical interests include bleeding or immune-mediated disorders, trauma and sepsis.

Dr. Whitley volunteers for CHERUBS, a nonprofit that focuses on research, helping families and caring for children born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Her favorite pastimes include soccer, running, golf, traveling and watching sports. She and her husband, BluePearl internist Dr. Ryan Bray have one daughter. The family pets include beagle Rivers, cat Willie B, better fish Theodore Braysevelt, leopard geckos Herman and Miranda, and corn snakes Goliath and Bianca.

Dr. Kevin Winkler enjoys all aspects of small animal surgery. He currently serves on the American Veterinary Medical Association’s disaster relief team.

Dr. Winkler and his wife have four children, two dogs and two cats. They enjoy traveling and following the Georgia Bulldogs.

After nine years as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois, Dr. Jackie Wypij remains dedicated to teaching others and is often invited to speak at national veterinary conferences. She also continues to pursue additional training for herself and has earned certificates in grief counseling, online teaching and clinical and translational research methods. Dr. Wypij’s particular clinical interests include canine lymphoma and mast cell tumors; feline cancer of all types, especially oral; and palliative and hospice care.

Dr. Wypij enjoys dancing the Argentine tango, hiking, camping or chasing after her two children.

Steven is passionate about orthopedic surgery and particularly enjoys fracture repair and angular limb deformity correction. At home he enjoys his large dog Bigwig, a South African Boerboel, and unwinds with reading, baseball and gardening.